Author Archives: cissnewsletter

Creating Engaging Outdoor Spaces for Children

C1As a Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE), I believe that outdoor play is essential to children. I strive to take the children outside on a daily basis throughout the changing seasons.  Depending on the weather, it can be challenging to keep the children engaged in play. Here are three strategies that I have found helpful to keep the children involved in their time spent outdoors:

1. Interest-Based Activities – Provide children with activities that are of interest to them. Be attentive to the conversations that are happening in the program to further their play based on their changing interests.

2. Provide open-ended material – Think about the purpose of the materials that are being set out and ensure that the materials can be used in a variety of ways. Providing these open-ended materials allows the children to adapt their play and encourages the use of their imagination.

3. Get involved! – The best way to get children engaged in an activity is to participate with them. I model for the children the different ways in which the materials can be used, encouraging them to play.

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WANTED: a Voice and a Friend

WANTED....a voice and a friendA mother’s story about the challenge of having a child with Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Voiceless….to have no voice. To be unable to effectively tell others how you feel, what you want or what you are thinking…this is how my 8 year old son feels, each and every day. He’s not silent. He tries so very hard to communicate and we listen. We try to understand and respond. Often, he’s not understood. Not even by us, his loving parents who want so much to connect with him. Many times he just gives up or shrugs and says “I don’t know” when asked a question during a conversation. It’s just too hard for him. My son has Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) and his name is Ewan. Continue reading →

Dr. Jean Clinton Makes Connections While in Ottawa

On October 3rd, Andrew Fleck Child Care Services along with community partners hosted an event with Dr. Jean Clinton. Dr. Clinton is an Associate Clinical Professor at McMaster University and author of many papers on early childhood development. In her inspiring presentation, Dr._Clinton explored the benefits of positive adult-child relationships, focusing on the importance of connections in a child’s education and development. Along with the growing research on the benefits of play-based learning and mindfulness, Dr. Clinton presented the benefits of an educator’s emotional connection with each child.

Dr. Clinton discussed the role of relationships in child development starting from birth. The first relationships which are typically between a mother and her baby create the internal representation of how children expect others to treat them. The level of attachment will affect a child’s relationships, academics, self-regulation and resilience. Experiences, connections and stressors change how babies and children respond to the world. Dr. Clinton emphasized that it is our responsibility as a community to support the positive attachments of mothers and babies. This relationship will virtually affect all other aspects of their development. Continue reading →

Journey of an Active Young Man

Hard to believe Denis recently turned 19 years old. He’s a very happy young man regardless of his challenges such as being non-verbal, and yet he has no problem communicating his wants and needs.

It all started many, many moons ago when Denis was a baby. We knew there were issues but when he finally had his CT Scan at the age of one, they discovered hydrocephalus (an accumulation of fluid within the cranium) and he had a shunt installed within weeks. At 3 years of age, he was diagnosed with Autism and started school on a full-time basis at 3 and a half. That’s when we crossed paths with Children’s Integration Support Services and were matched with an amazing Resource Consultant, Sylvie Giroux, to whom we still send Christmas cards. We were blessed to have her in our lives at that time. Continue reading →

Fostering Connectedness in your Centre

The Children’s Village at Bridlewood is one of four licensed school age programs operated by the long standing and respected Children’s Village of Ottawa-Carleton. I am the program supervisor and I get to experience the best of both worlds by splitting my time in both the office and on the floor as a team teacher. Our agency takes pride in its programs, the fostering of connectedness between staff, parents, colleagues and most importantly the children. We also value the overall impact of connectedness on learning and behaviour.

A colleague of mine recently brought to my attention a discussion she had with one of our children, a seven year old boy. He had counted the hours he was at school in a day and compared it to how many hours he spent at home with his family. “Miss, did you know I’m at school for ten hours? That is more time than I am with my family and more time than I am asleep”. Educators and operators of before and after-school programs know this realization all too well. For me, working under the motto “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child” means we aren’t just educators, we are a family away from home to these children.

The Children’s Village at Bridlewood 2014-2015

The Children’s Village at Bridlewood 2014-2015

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It All Starts with Strong Relationships

Scenario 1 – Steven arrives with his grandfather and they are warmly greeted by an Educator. Steven joins the children playing Octopus. He often needs help remembering to follow the rules and routines and has a really hard time being “out”. When he gets “out”, he becomes really upset. When this happens, the Educator calls him over and gives him a strong hug to activate his listening ability. Without the hug, he cannot hear what is being said to him. His feelings are acknowledged by saying, ” You didn’t want to be out. It’s hard to be out. A new game will start soon. Do you want to wait here or with the other children who are out?” Steven moves to join the other children. A simple hug and an acknowledgement of his feelings really helps him turn things around. Continue reading →

Using Letter Links in a Preschool Program

As parents, we agonize over the selection of a name for our new baby. The sense of personal identity and uniqueness that a name gives is at the heart of why names are so important.

Letter-Links-Pic-PSWP1Letter links are the pairing of a picture with a word that starts with the same letter and sound. Considering that children are naturally attached to and familiar with their own names, it makes perfect sense to begin literacy knowledge here. For example, Kevin might have a picture of a king and Sarah, a strawberry. In choosing the picture for a child’s letter link, remember to match the starting sound, as well as the letter. For example, Isaac could have a picture of ice cream, but an igloo image would not be appropriate (long versus short /i/). Names beginning with double consonant sounds should be considered too; Trevor could be tree, etc.  Continue reading →

The Jar of Joy

IMG_20141215_150837225As a way of acknowledging acts of kindness, one child care program uses pompoms. That’s right… pompoms and a Jar of Joy!

First the educator explains the concept of random acts of kindness and introduces the pompoms and the Jar of Joy. Then the group talks about what kinds of things each child could do to receive a pompom to put in the Jar of Joy. They also discuss what fun activities they could do as a group once the Jar of Joy was full. Then the fun begins! Continue reading →

Where Are They Now – Following Your Heart’s Desires

Pic-Ben1When Benjamin was born he looked just like his older sister, Emily, as far as we and our doctor were concerned. The nurses in the nursery, however thought he looked like he had Down Syndrome and so genetic testing was done. When we received the call that the testing was positive for Trisomy 21 we were in shock and asked for him to be retested. As soon as the results from the second test confirmed the diagnosis, I called the Down Syndrome Society of Ottawa Carleton and the Infant Development Centre. This was where Heather Jones, an Infant Development Worker, came into our lives and was a godsend.

Heather told us to look at Ben as our child not as “Down Syndrome”. She told us he would be able to do anything anyone else could; he just may have to be taught the steps instead of coming by them naturally. At that time there were family support groups and play groups we attended. Communicating with other parents and interacting with them and their children normalized everything. Ben had many people in his life to help him and who supported us. He was lucky to have benefited from occupational, speech and vocational therapy as well as sign language. Continue reading →